Hermione and Draco: Only you
by CharlotteAusten
Summary: Hermione and Draco get stuck together doing a project together. At first Hermione detests the idea, but as she opens her mind, and her heart, she learns there is more than meets the eye to this boy. As this romance blossoms, Hermione must make some dificu
1. Default Chapter

"Welcome back, students, to this your 6th year at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. Do not let the fact you aren't taking major exams at the end of the year lull you into a false sense of security. This year will be hard; I'll make sure of it. This year separates the losers from the winners, the people who will succeed in life from the people who will become nothing. I would advise each and every one of you not to fall behind, because none of the teachers, least of all I, will hold your hands through this year. So I suggest you all pay very good attention to me. Today you will start work on a potion that will be worth 90 of your overall mark for this year. An invisibility potion. Make sure you study the ingredients and directions carefully. Neglect any step, no matter how insignificant it may seem, and it could cost you your life, as each pair will try their potion before the class 2 months from now." Snape stopped and looked down his hooked nose at the class. Harry and Ron looked at each other to exchanged scared glances. Neville who was sitting in the row in front was sweating so badly his elbows kept slipping off the table. Seamus and Dean sat near him, and they looked like they were trying very hard to keep from laughing. And Hermione was sitting on the edge of her seat, oblivious to what any of the others were doing because she was soaking up every word Snape said.

"That's right class, you will be preparing these potions in pairs. I have taken the liberty of breaking you up, so my apologies but you wont be able to choose your groups" His lip curled into a smirk as he looked straight at Ron and Harry, who had looked hopeful for a few moments but were now frowning. "Pay attention I won't repeat this. Potter and Longbottom. Thomas and Finnegan. Weasley and Crabbe. Goyle and Parkinson" He continued to pair the class up, and they broke up into their pairs. Hermione looked around the class. There were less and less people left, until there were only two. Hermione didn't like the look of this. "And Granger and Malfoy".

"I thought I got unlucky getting paired with Neville, but you two really dipped out" Said Harry, with a chuckle after class that day. They had gone for a walk in the grounds and sat under a tree near the lake.

"Glad you think it's funny. Crabbe's thicker than Neville, I'm doomed." Said Ron, glumly.

"And I'M stuck with that worm Malfoy! The only good thing that can come from this is Snape has to grade us equally and I doubt he'd fail Draco."

"Well I'm bound to fail. I think the only person Snape hates more than me is Neville." Said Harry as he pulled up some grass and sprinkled it while the wind carried it away.

"I still think I pulled the shortest straw. Crabbe is as thick as two short planks. I'm DOOMED!" Said Ron and he put his head in his hands.

"So Hermione, have you organized a time to meet with Malfoy to plan you approach to the project?" Asked Harry, unable to hide his smirk.

"Yes actually, I told him to meet me in the library after dinner at 6:30 tonight. I'll make it short and sweet. I'll tell him what he has to do, what I'm doing, and hopefully we won't have to speak too much after that." Said Hermione in a distinguished tone.

"Well," Said Ron looking at his watch "You better get going, it's 6:20 now!"

"Oh gosh, you're right, see you in the common room later, k?" Said Hermione as she got up and dashed away.  
"Don't worry! We'll want to hear every detail! Don't do anything I wouldn't do!" Called Ron after her.


	2. Chapter 2

Hermione walked into the library. It was completely deserted. She hadn't expected anyone to be in there, it was the first week and teachers hardly ever gave homework on the first week. She sighed and sat at a table near the back of the room. She pulled the Invisibility Potion ingredients and instructions out of her bag. "Trust Snape to set us a potion this complex and make it worth basically our entire grade." she thought to herself. There were ingredients that needed to be picked and cut on the 5th day of a new moon, and stewed for exactly 7 and ¾ hours, when the sun was at 90 degrees from the earth. She shook her head. She couldn't see any way out of working with Malfoy. Most of the directions needed two people present for them to work to full effect. She looked at her watch. 6:45. Trust Malfoy to be late. She rolled her eyes; he was obviously trying to make a point. He wanted to make sure Hermione know no one was going to boss him around and he was doing his own thing.  
"Boys" Muttered Hermione, shaking her head. She looked up and she saw Malfoy walking into the library.

"Draco, I'm over here" She called out to him; he couldn't see her for looking! He saw her, and walked over. He had that usual smug smirk she detested fixed on his face.

"Lets get this sorted shall we, Granger? I'm a busy man." Said Draco with a bored tone.

"I don't like being here anymore than you do, _Malfoy_, and I wouldn't want to spend anymore time in your presence than absolutely necessary." Hermione shot back. Draco opened his mouth a few times, thinking of something to quip back, but apparently nothing came to mind, because he sat down on the opposite side of the table silently.

"Right… This is a terribly complex potion and both of us will need to put a lot into it…" Said Hermione, glancing over the instructions again.

"What's this? The amazing Granger DOESN'T know how to do something? Alert the press people." Said Draco sarcastically. Hermione shot him a look of pure venom.

"Look, this is as bad for me as it is for you. You are the LAST person I would choose to work with, but lets try to get along or at least bite our tongues so this whole thing isn't so painful"

"You think this is as bad for you as it is for me? Hah. You're not the one who has to work with a..." Said Draco, but Hermione cut him off and continued.  
"IF we work together and do everything the instructions say I don't see why we shouldn't be able to do this. I've drawn us both up a list of what we can do separately, but the rest needs two people working in unison." And Hermione handed him the little piece of paper she had drawn his instructions up on. He took it and looked at it.  
"What's this bollocks, Granger? What does your list say?" He said, and he snatched hers. He quickly read it. "You gave me all the hard stuff! This is crap, I'm not doing it!"

"Fine, we'll swap list then, shall we?"

"I don't want to swap; I don't want you telling me what to do." He said, and he dropped both lists on the table.

"Draco, do you have any better ideas? No! I don't want to fail this project, and I don't want you holding me back. Unless you have anything to bring to the table, this is the only plan we've got. So do you have any better ideas?" Said Hermione, taking a deep breath afterwards. Hermione took it from his silence he didn't. "Good. So take a list, read it, and we'll meet tomorrow to begin our preparations?"

"Can't tomorrow, Quidditch training" Said Draco casually.

"Well you can't be training all day, what about afterwards?"

"Afterwards… I'll see how I go shall I? And for the records, I don't take orders from mudbloods." And he picked up his things and left a very furious Hermione behind.

When she got back to the common room, she walked over to Ron and Harry, threw her bag on the floor and screamed.

"I simply CANNOT work with that boy! He is the most hateful, vulgar and abhorrent person I have EVER had the displeasure of knowing." Said Hermione as she collapsed next to Harry.

"So I'm guessing you don't like him?" Inquired Ron. Hermione simply shot him a look that shut him up.

"I don't see how this arrangement will ever work. He goes out of his way to torture me. I can see he's going to make this hell." Hermione sighed.

"Just ignore him… He'll stop if he thinks he isn't getting to you" Said Harry.

"Harry you know that's not true. He's like a cockroach, not even nuclear warfare could stop him."

"I just can't see you being able to get out of it… You'll just have to make the best of a bad situation." Said Harry, though he said it in a defeatist way.

"I just can't see any good coming of this"


	3. Chapter 3

The next morning as Hermione lay in bed, she had a few moments of ignorant bliss before she remembered she would have to find Draco that morning and organize a time for them to meet. She knew he was going to make the whole thing very difficult, simply because he could. Any other student in Hermione's situation would simply give in, but she couldn't fail potions, because if she failed 6th year potions, she wouldn't be allowed into 7th year potions, and if she couldn't get into 7th year potions she would never succeed in life and it wouldn't be worth living any longer. She got up and ready, and went down to breakfast to find him.

As she entered the great hall, she spotted him immediately over at the Slytherin table surrounded by the usual suspects. His thick-skulled camarilla. She took a deep breath and walked confidently over to them, head held high. As she walked up the table, every head followed her, curious as to whom she was seeing. When she passed Pansy Parkinson, she stuck her leg out, but Hermione saw it coming and hopped over it.

"You lost, Granger?" She inquired. Her and her friends all cackled like a bunch of hags. Hermione ignored them, and tapped Draco on the shoulder.

"Malfoy, about the potion, can you meet me some time today to begin planning?" She asked.

"Granger, what do you think this is, coming over to me while I'm eating my breakfast, have you no manners?" He said, and his friends all guffawed moronically.

"Draco, cut the crap, can you meet me or not, I'm not failing because of you."

"Look fine, Granger, meet me in Conference Room One tonight at 7." He said, and Hermione nodded and walked away. "Don't be late!" He called after her, and his friends began to laugh again. Hermione grabbed some toast and left the great hall. "Well, that could have been worse" She thought to herself as she walked out the great oak doors and into the grounds. The cold morning air hit her hard and she shivered and pulled her robes around her tightly. She walked down the rolling grass, and towards the Quidditch pitch. She wasn't really aware of where she was going, she just really needed to get out of the castle for a while. She soon found herself sitting in the stands of the Quidditch pitch. She had sat there for a while, just thinking about school work, and a new book on advanced jinxes which had just come out, when 7 green and silver streaks shot across the sky. She forgot the Slytherin Quidditch team were practicing today. She was just about to get up and leave, when she saw Draco fly past. She had never really noticed before what a superb flyer he was. With his body flat against his broom, it seemed like he controlled it with his mind. He had caught the snitch within moments of it being released. As he flew around the stadium, Hermione seemed entranced by him. He was so agile and alert. That boy really could fly. "He could only be second to Harry in the whole school" she thought herself. Before she knew it, she had sat and watched their entire training session. She scolded herself for wasting time when she had so much to do! She gathered herself and made her way out of the Quidditch stadium and up the lawns back to the castle.

After an afternoon of getting up to date in all her subjects, Hermione set out for Conference Room One where she would be meeting Draco. When she arrived, to her surprise, Draco was already sitting there with his books and things out. She knocked on the door although it was already open, and walked in, closing the door behind her.

"Ah well, glad you decided to join me, Granger. Still getting over the excitement of your morning, no doubt?" Draco smirked. Oh no, had he seen her watching him?  
"I don't know what you mean, Malfoy" Said Hermione as she got her things out of her bag.  
"Come now, I saw you at our training session this morning. You couldn't take your eyes off me, Granger!" Said Draco, raising an eyebrow.

"Come off it Malfoy, you cocky git. I was merely…" But she couldn't quite manage what she was doing.

"You were merely what, hmm? I know what you were merely doing. You were merely watching in awe as you admired my Quidditch talent." He said. Hermione couldn't believe it. Draco had hit the nail right on the head, but she couldn't let him know this. Why, his neck would break under the weight of his enormous head if he knew.

"You're arrogance never ceases to amaze me. How can one person love themselves so much!?" Asked Hermione, as she raised her hands in the air. She couldn't see how she could stand two more months of this ego, it was suffocating her. 'Anyway… Have you made any progress on the project?"

"Ey, way to change the subject Granger, you know I'm right" Said Draco, as he put his feet up on the table and rocked back in his chair. "But as a matter of fact, I have. On the little list you gave me, you told me to 'finely slice liver of bat and simmer until golden brown, then freeze' well I did that last night, I also took the liberty of getting these from Snape." And he reached into his bad and pulled out several little air-tight jars. Hermione looked closely at the labels.

"Eye of Hrok? Root of Ginelipook? You got these from Snape? That's amazing! The rest of the groups have to find and harvest these things themselves!" She scanned the rest of the labels. There were many things she was sure most of the other groups would have trouble finding. "This is amazing. We have such an advantage…"

"Well, you don't think I wanted to _fail_ do you?"

"Well yes I did actually. I should have known you'd have some scheme brewing in your head."

"Well, let's get to work shall we?" Said Draco, and he began to read the book in front of him about different ways to boil Skrewt Liver. It was funny, Hermione didn't seem to detest him so much now, he was actually being bearable. He'd followed the instructions she'd given him, he'd even gone out of his way to find things that would really help them with this project. After a while of reading he looked up at her.

"I don't get this. Why can't we add the Jingleberry seeds and the Skrewt liver at the same time?" He asked.

"Because, the acidic content of the Jingleberry seeds make the balance in the Skrewt liver uneven. After we boil the Jingleberries the acid levels drop and then they're find to add."

"Oh… I get it now. Thanks Hermione." Said Draco and he looked back into his book. Wait a minute, had Draco just thanked her? AND did he not just call her _Hermione_? He usually referred to her as "Granger". She was beginning to think Draco was different when not surrounded by his cronies.


	4. Chapter 4

Hermione returned to the common room later that night, and spotted Harry and Neville sitting in the corner, poring over large and tedious volumes of Advanced Potion making. She walked over to them, wanting to find out how the other groups were doing.

"How's the potion coming along, guys?" She asked, and smiled as she leant on their table.

"Bad." Grumbled Neville from a behind and enormous book. Harry looked up and nodded.

"Really? Draco and I are going great; we've covered so much ground already." Said Hermione with a smile.

"What? You and Draco have been working together, well?" Asked Harry, apparently bemused.

"Yeah, it's weird. He's actually been quite pleasant and helpful." Replied Hermione.  
"Malfoy? Pleasant? HELPFUL?" Said Harry, as Neville looked up from behind his book. They looked at each other and began to laugh.

"It's true!" Said Hermione.

"Yeah, I'll believe that when I see it." Laughed Harry, and he turned back to his books. Hermione walked up to her dormitory. Hermione was finding it as hard to believe it, but she was sure Draco was being polite to her when they were working.

Hermione woke early the next morning, hoping to get up to the owlery and send a letter home to her parents before the rest of the students woke up and the owlery became too crowded. She got ready and dressed and looked out the window, the sun was just peeping over the horizon, making the sky a pale pink. She crept out of the dorm, through the silent common room and into the hallways. She didn't pass one student one her way up. She liked Hogwarts the best at these times, when everything was silent and she could be left to her own devices. But she was shocked to find someone already in the owlery when she arrived. The early morning sun shone off his blonde hair. It was Draco. She was just about to greet him, when she heard him let out a sob. He was facing the other way, but Hermione knew he was crying. She didn't know what to do. She quickly hid behind a large stone pillar, she had the feeling he wouldn't be happy if anyone saw him now. She peeped out, and saw him wipe his eyes with his sleeve. He had something in his hand, it looked like a letter. She heard him sniff, and then he scrunched up the piece of paper in his hand, and ripped it up in a rage. He turned around and stormed towards the exit. He kicked a cage that lay on the floor hard across the room. Hermione didn't know where to hide now; he was coming right towards her. She had nowhere to go, she stepped out from behind the pillar and was greeted by Draco's furious eyes and tear stained cheeks.

"Granger! How long… How long have you been there?" He asked, stunned by her sudden appearance.

"Not long enough to see anything… I mean, that is, I just arrived" She said, all too quickly. Draco narrowed his eye and then pushed Hermione up against the wall by her shoulders.

"You tell anyone about this, mudblood, ANYONE, and I'll make you wish you were never born" Said Draco, shaking with anger. He took one last look at her, and swept out of the door, his robes billowing behind him. Hermione was short of breath as he left, she stood leaning against the walls panting for a few moments. She had to take a few moments to soak up the gravity of the situation. She had just walked in and saw Draco Malfoy, cold, heartless Malfoy, crying like a child. She was amazed, until now she had thought he was void of any human emotion. She quickly decided she wouldn't tell anyone, even Harry and Ron. This was his business, no one else's.

They had planned to meet again later that day, and as Hermione walked towards Conference Room One, she sincerely doubted Draco would be there. But to her genuine surprise, he was there, books open, quill on parchment.

"Hello…" She said softly as she entered. He ignored her and continued to write. "Umm… Draco, do you want to talk about what happened this morning?"

"Talk about what, there's nothing to talk about. Especially not with you" He spat. Hermione nodded, and took her things out of her bag, but her nosey nature got the better of her.

"I just want you to know, if you ever needed someone to talk to, nothing you say would leave these lips again" Said Hermione, as she pointed at her mouth.  
"Oh, okay Granger, If I ever feel the need to share my deepest darkest secrets with a person I despise, I'll come to you shall I?" Said Draco, with a smirk and a lift of his eyebrow.

"Say what you want, Malfoy, but I saw you crying…" Said Hermione as she looked at her hands.

"I wasn't crying… I was… I was..." Stammered Draco, unable to say what he was doing.

"You were what? Hmm?"

"You don't know what it's like being me!" Said Draco finally, with a sigh. Hermione was not quite sure what to say. They sat in silence for a few moments.  
"Well, Draco… What is it like being you?" She said in a small distant voice that sounded unlike her own.

"The letter was from my father. See, my report from last year wasn't too flash. I failed everything besides potions. My father didn't talk to me for the whole holidays, now he sends me a letter. I thought it was to say he has forgiven me, but it turns out it was to tell me I'm not to return home for the rest of the year, not even for Christmas. He said I shamed him and the Malfoy name, and he doesn't want to see me. He has all these unrealistic expectations of me; he wants me to be something I'm not. Something I could never be. He said I'm not his son." He stopped and hung his head. Hermione hardly knew what to say. One second ago he was saying he despised her and wouldn't share anything with her, and the next he was baring his soul.

"I didn't know, Draco" Said Hermione, in that same small voice she didn't recognize.

"No one does." He said. Hermione hesitated, and then reached across the table to where his hand was, and she placed hers on top of his. She felt him shiver, but he didn't withdraw it. She lost track of time as they sat there in silence.


End file.
